Roll Call Vote on Last Night's Motion to Defer Controversial Hermitage PUD

Below is the breakdown of votes from the Council's deferral of J.B. Loring's and Harold White's bill to allow a medical building to expand beyond what it had originally proposed when it first moved into the Hermitage neighborhood, which is learning that if you let the camel's nose under the tent at first, the whole animal is bound to push its way in eventually.

First, here's how the candidates running for office in August voted. Mayoral candidate David Briley voted to defer, as did Vice Mayoral candidate Carolyn Baldwin Tucker. Mayoral candidate Buck Dozier, who is consistently pro-business expansion at the expense of neighborhoods, voted against deferral. At-Large candidates Charlie Tygard and Loring voted against deferral.

The 15 council members (with the exception of new member Jim Hodge) who voted against Sam Coleman's deferral for more community feedback, seem to qualify as a consistently pro-business, ambivalent-toward-neighborhoods block:

• Dozier
• Michael Craddock
• Jason Hart
• Jim Forkum
• Rip Ryman
• Feller Brown
• Jim Gotto
• Carl Burch
• Loring
• Ed Whitmore
• Eric Crafton
• Randy Foster
• Jim Hodge
• Parker Toler
• Tygard

The only surprise in the group that voted to defer was Ludye Wallace, who generally votes with the block that voted against deferral. I'm sure Ludye will come back around on March 20, after co-sponsors make little or no effort to address community concerns. Here is the group of 22 voting for deferral of the re-zoning and on behalf of concerned residents:

• Tucker
• Briley
• Adam Dread
• Brenda Gilmore
• Jamie Isabel
• Lisa Hunt
• Pam Murray
• Mike Jameson
• Erik Cole
• Anna Page
• Ginger Hausser
• Wallace
• Billy Joe Walls
• Emily Evans
• John Summers
• Jim Shulman
• Greg Adkins
• Jason Alexander
• Vivian Wilhoite
• Coleman
• Robert Duvall
• Lynn Williams

Absent: White, Diane Neighbors, and Ronnie Greer

This is one of those votes we should keep in mind at election time, especially as it is a strike against candidates Dozier, Tygard, and Loring, unless they change their tune on March 20.